It's very possible that you'd be better off using your points at 1.33cents each towards a non-AA flight (I'm assuming you have Prestige since you specifically mentioned that AA flights are expensive in the context of using TY points to book revenue fare). Fares to SE Asia can usually be found for < $1000 from many parts of the US. $1000 fare is just ~75k points vs award flights that will run you 80k (Flying Blue), 90k (Asia Miles), or ~60k (Singapore) + fuel surcharges. I just did a search for ORD-BKK round trip 9/2-9/17 and Cathay charges $882 or ~66k TY points. Starting in LAX or JFK is even cheaper. Plus you get the benefit of not having to deal with award availability - many more options. The only negative is you use the flexibility that comes with most award bookings.